Panel's recommendations on improving teacher education programmes to be discused

Updated on: Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The government has convened a meeting of state education departments here tomorrow to deliberate upon a panel's recommendations on improving teacher education programmes which include pre-entry testing of candidates for admission to training institutes.

The Supreme Court-appointed Justice J S Verma Commission on improving teacher education system had submitted its report last August, with the suggestion of also exploring possibility of engaging teacher educators as visiting faculty in schools.

It had suggested development of a framework on school audit and teacher performance and increased investment in establishing teacher education institutions.

Underlining the sad state of affairs of preparing teachers in the country, the commission said, "The government should increase its investment for establishing teacher education institutions and increase the institutional capacity of teacher preparation, especially in the deficit states."

Besides, it stressed for pre-entry testing of candidates for admission to teacher education programmes.

The commission proposed strengthening regulatory powers and functions of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

Justice Verma has also recommended that teacher educators could be considered as visiting faculty in school.

The rationale was that teacher educators are usually divorced from the realities and conditions prevalent in the school environment as also the expectations of the school system from the teachers.

The Supreme Court was of the view that the recommendations of the Commission deserve to be accepted and has requested the Centre and NCTE to file an affidavit in the implementation plan.

Panel's recommendations on improving teacher education programmes to be discused

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